Role Description____________________________________

In the early Middle Ages a baker provided what was considered the most basic of foods - bread. It was the staple food of the period. If a young man wanted to become a baker, he had to serve an apprenticeship of seven years. Bakers were located either in the town or the castle. The trade was strictly regulated and many laws concerning bakers were in force. Most of these laws provided penalties for insufficient bread for the community or a poor quality product. Bakers made and sold bread of different varieties. The penalty for cheating a customer ,by giving the customer less bread than he/ she ordered, is very harsh.

Keywords______________________________________________________

bread	baking	wheat
gastronomy	food	flour
grain

Print Resources_________________________________________________

Title	Location	Call Number	Pages
Encyclopaedia Britannica	Encyclopedias	REF 031 ENC	v.19 p.359-360
Dictionary of the Middle Ages	Reference	REF 940.1 DIC	v.2 p. 364; v.5 p.121
Life in a Medieval City	Daily Life	914.4 GIE	p. 49
Chaucer's England	Daily Life	942.03 CHI	p. 85
The Medieval Cookbook	Culture & Society	641.5942 BLA	p. 37 and throughout

Web Resources__________________________________________________

Suggested Databases:
Thomson Gale: Student Resource Center Gold; History Resource Center-World

Web Sites:
Medieval Occupations

Medieval Bread

Bakers' Guilds in the Middle Ages

Bread FAQ

History of Bread